I'd advise you to brush up on your spelling and grammar before you started worrying too much about the details of what you were going to write. Effective conveyance of the point is just as important as the point itself.

Yes, I know. But I always figured alternate universe means the characters stay the same at their core and it's the circumstances around them and their effect on them that are changed.

For example, I could see Kaylee born and raised in Simon's world, with greater intellectual refinement and accustomed to privilege, but what would make her Kaylee would be that genuine openness to people and experiences, her sense of humor and her faith in her own convicions.

Though, an alternate universe with Inara singing punk would be a hoot LOL!

No, not really, unless that's the point of the alternate universe, but then why write in the characters at all?

However, Inara could still be the same character in a different job (Even though canon Inara might disagree with me!). I don't know why that's so unreasonable.

Granted, her job is part of what makes the conflict she has with Mal so interesting, and none of that has ever really been resolved, and that's why I like her in it...

But a universe with a superstar songstress/opera singer Inara who wants to live a quiet modest life, but is under increasing stress from her fans and managers could also be an interesting take on the verse.

If she's really high A-list, it could throw in commentary on social class that Firefly and Serenity really only brush the surface of. Increases the gap, if you will, because even though Inara is higher on the social totem pole than most of the Rim, my impression is she's still mostly on the outside looking in at society royalty.

This is the AU I've thought of; Mal as the WWI veteran captain of a disreputable, junky cargo ship, plowing the South Pacific in the 1930's. The Japanese are lurking but haven't attacked Pearl Harbor, yet.

Inara runs a classy French restaurant on a French island and sings sultry jazz occasionally. It's rumored that she has a few girls for hire but she is very picky for her own relationships.

Kaylee is a midwestern farm girl with a knack for machines that somehow ended up on the SS Serenity after getting stuck in the East with out a way to get back home, so she uses her trade to earn money and hopefully one day return to the farm.

Jayne is a mercenary of course but he can't or doesn't want to go back to the good ole US of A.

Wash sails the ship and Zoe of course is part of the package.

Simon is a rich doctor who lost his money in the Depression and decided to ply his trade among the natives of the islands. He's accompanied by his seriously crazy sister.

Or you could change things to a seriously dinged up DC-3 and fly between the islands a la Tales of the Gold Monkey.

Ya srry about the alternate/alternative thing it was late. lol. And thanks for all the feed back Im with the jazz tune Autumn Leaves.

Story that’s in my head is Mal wakes up in Alternate universe where Serenity is an earth-that-was bar (still think about what point in time) he owns with Zoe. Wash is the bartender; Kaylee runs the distillery in the basement, Inara is big time singer that sneaks away to Serenity to sing one in a while. Jayne is the bouncer at the bar; Book and Simon are still a preacher N doctor respectively. Time frame is after BDM, that’s all I have right know hope it ends well.

Roy Orbison's "Crying" sung in the style of Rebekah Del Rio from MULHOLLAND DRIVE. Spanish or English is up to you.

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"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

I see what Rouka means, about how reserved Inara is, but I don't think it would entirely preclude her from any kind of performance. That might be part of the duality of her. After all, the Inara we know practices a profession in which she has very intimate contact with her audience, and at the very same time retains her distance and privacy. It might be very intriguing to see on stage. I've been thinking about this, imagining her as a very low-key, restrained presence, perhaps at a piano, but with a voice that communicates so much emotion it's almost mesmerizing...and then offstage she's as buttoned up and reserved as the Inara we know and love. Hearing that voice, wondering at the heart behind it, but never being able to touch it...that's where I'd see our Mal in this AU.

Song choices? Dream a Little Dream, by Cass Eliot; Walking After Midnight or several others by Patsy Cline; Lush Life (I don't know who the original artist was); Gracias a la Vida (Mercedes Sosa); Scarlet Tide, the song Elvis Costello wrote and Alison Krauss sang for Cold Mountain (is that the name of the Civil War movie?); Almost Blue, another Elvis C. song; Sarah McLaughlin's In the Arms of the Angels; Little Sparrow by Dolly Parton; Emmylou Harris' All that You Have is Your Soul; Keep Me in Your Heart for Awhile or Please Stay, both from Warren Zevon's last album.

All very personal and introspective, I can see her sharing so much with her voice but then insisting on the distance and almost keeping aloof (through diffidence) offstage.

WARNING: the following post is thoroughly unromantic, takes this thread way too seriously, and shouldn't be read by anyone out to enjoy regular ole fun fluffy fanfic.

Seriously! Stop reading now!

Quote:Originally posted by GillianRose:
Hearing that voice, wondering at the heart behind it, but never being able to touch it...that's where I'd see our Mal in this AU.

I find that a fundamental restructuring and simplification of Inara. It reduces her to a female *object* right out of the age of American Idol pop culture. ie: girl innocently practices her art, completely unaware of how her amazing talent makes her inner lovable goddess shine out, and she unwittingly reduces the hero of the tale to a gooey puddle of starry-eyed puppy love...

Sorry. It's just too Disney TV movie for me! (ETA: Wow, wasn't meaning that to be as bitchy as it sounds! Sorry about that.)

And anyway, I really don't see Inara as a performer. She certainly lives in a spotlight, but she very knowingly and intentionally makes use of it to do her job. See, here's the thing: what she does in the public eye does not reveal her true self; it is an act designed to attract and service her clients. In the series, she does calligraphy in private. She doesn't rent out a studio and show her finished work. Similarly, I could see her singing in private, but I don't see her singing with true, heartfelt passion in front an audience. She'd sing publicly only as part of her act, part of her job as a Companion.

Speaking of which: I find it interesting that the AUs discussed in this thread have the Firefly characters finding their way to their usual jobs - except Inara. Kaylee is still a mechanic, Mal and Zoe are still the leaders, but Inara is no longer a whore.

Sure, we can argue the semantics of "whore" vs "Companion", but the fact remains that canon Inara has sex for money. Changing her to a steamy lounge singer or ivory tower opera diva ignores her most defining characteristic: she's a gold-hearted whore. She's a deeply caring woman who lives to make intimate connections with people, but does it in a way that leaves her completely isolated. I find this fascinating, and I'm sad to see this part of her character lopped off as if it doesn't matter.

What? Are you still reading? Well, don't reply to tell me what a grumpy old pooh I am, because I did warn you LOL!

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hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left

Mal4Prez, I feel compelled to answer, since I find myself the only one quoted in your post.

girl innocently practices her art, completely unaware of how her amazing talent makes her inner lovable goddess shine out, and she unwittingly reduces the hero of the tale to a gooey puddle of starry-eyed puppy love...

I agree that this particular iteration of the story would make the female character into someone other than the Inara of Firefly, and into a less powerful and interesting character. But that's only one possibility for the story, and not the one I was musing on, or intending to contribute. If my words suggested I wanted Inara to be girlish, innocent, and unaware of the effect of her craft, I apologize too :).

There are performers who, no matter the intensity of what they share with their audience, are quite introverted and contemplative off-stage, and not comfortable with sharing themselves personally.

Quote:Originally posted by GillianRose:
After all, the Inara we know practices a profession in which she has very intimate contact with her audience, and at the very same time retains her distance and privacy. It might be very intriguing to see on stage. I've been thinking about this, imagining her as a very low-key, restrained presence, perhaps at a piano, but with a voice that communicates so much emotion it's almost mesmerizing...and then offstage she's as buttoned up and reserved as the Inara we know and love. Hearing that voice, wondering at the heart behind it, but never being able to touch it...that's where I'd see our Mal in this AU.

I guess it's exactly that image that completely contradicts Inara's character for me. She doesn't share intimacy with her clients, and certainly not emotional intimacy, unless she perhaps has known them a while and has come to care for them personally.

The intimacy is all on the side of the client, while Inara mirrors what they need. That's not at all like expressing a great deal of emotion with her voice on a stage for complete strangers. That would be very self-focused and, well, expressive, which is very much not how Inara is with anyone professionally.

If anything, she is more emotionally open outside of her job (as s the healthy way) even though she is still quite reserved, and it's that private, reserved Inara Mal has fallen in love with.

I see that many people find it believable, but it's one of those things that just don't work for me.

I find it impressive, though, what all of you have made of this topic! Great discussion!

Quote:Originally posted by Albio:
Ya srry about the alternate/alternative thing it was late. lol. And thanks for all the feed back Im with the jazz tune Autumn Leaves.

Story that’s in my head is Mal wakes up in Alternate universe where Serenity is an earth-that-was bar (still think about what point in time) he owns with Zoe. Wash is the bartender; Kaylee runs the distillery in the basement, Inara is big time singer that sneaks away to Serenity to sing one in a while. Jayne is the bouncer at the bar; Book and Simon are still a preacher N doctor respectively. Time frame is after BDM, that’s all I have right know hope it ends well.

Hell is other people

You should have mentioned that it would be a dream-type sequence! That completely reshuffles the standards for believability and in-character-ness. After all, it's more of a gimmick that way, a "theme" rather than a realistic exporation of alternate paths, and it's more supposed to reflect Mal's VIEWS of the other characters than their actual characters.

In that case... ask yourself what music Mal would associate with Inara. :)

Wow can’t believe such a big discussion came out of my writers block. Prez your cranky but your kind of cranky I can get behind lol. Anyway I didn’t mean to strip Inara of anything fulfilling her client emotional and physical need but it all being an empty charade. Made me thing of The gilded Nightingale an I went to singer from there. Also I’ve never seen Inara as a whore I’ve met whores, I know whores (not professionally) she is not a whore. So as stated I went with the closest thing I could to a companion that wasn’t a Doll (side note: where are the Doll crossovers people? Someone fell asleep at the wheel). And damn you Agentrouka! Your rite this is Mal head I’m taking the walking around in? What would Mal see Inara singing? I’ll do sum more walking and see what he says. Right now its still Autumn Flowers but I’ll take another walk around and see.

Autumn Flowers

The falling leaves drift by the window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold,
I see your lips, the summer kisses,
The sun-burned hands I used to hold,

Since you went away the days grow long,
And soon Ill hear old winters song,
But I miss you most of all my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall,

Now that I know the true nature of the AU, I'm actually kind of starting to like the idea.

It takes on a whole new significance if in this dream, Mal imagines Inara as a singer rather than, say, a prostitute hanging out at the bar.

In a sweet way, it implies that what Mal really sees as standing between them is a social barrier of some sort, not misgivings about Inara's sexual profession. Inara elevated on stage level (Pedestal? Idealising Inara by completely separating the "real" her from her dirty, dirty job?), Mal on the floor below, lured in by her mysterious siren song, helpless to escape impending doom (Wiles! Scary wiles!).

I bet he sees himself this way some days, an unwitting victim of this love that somehow happened to him against his will. Not all days, but some.

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